UNCW coaches took different paths to common goal

While the three assistants come from a variety of places, they all want to help the Seahawks win

By Alex Riley StarNews Staff

One is constantly in motion, bouncing around the floor and barking instructions nonstop.

One is active, but slightly reserved. He’s letting players do their thing before correcting mistakes.

The last one is a bit stoic, but always watching. His gaze constantly follows his group, even in the frantic pace.

Summer practice for the UNCW men’s basketball team is rolling and it’s not even 9:30 a.m. The brief session is a chance for the Seahawks to improve. It’s also time for Doug Esleeck, Jackie Manuel and Joe Wolf to teach. The three assistants are working to implement C.B. McGrath’s system before the start of his inaugural season.

All three men come from different places and backgrounds. They all approach coaching in diverse ways. But they all want the same thing – to win.

The first guy in

Doug Esleeck swears he remembers packing up and moving to Wilmington. He’s sure he stopped being an assistant coach at Mercer and became one at UNCW.

At least, that’s what his paycheck says.

“The only thing that really changed was who I was working for, where I was working and what my polo said. Other than that, it was just keep on keeping on,” he joked.

Esleeck first met McGrath at Kansas. As a high school senior, he helped at a summer basketball camp in Lawrence where McGrath was an assistant under Roy Williams. When Williams took the job in Chapel Hill, McGrath spent time with the Tar Heels’ JV team. Esleeck, a UNC grad, worked with that team after playing for the squad.

The men routinely crossed paths on the recruiting trail and kept in touch. The chance to return to North Carolina and the school where his wife, Ashley, graduated from was something Esleeck couldn’t turn down.

“When (McGrath) got an opportunity that ended up being three and a half hours from home for me, it was a no-brainer to be able to move my family back and cut the distance in half to the grandparents and all that kind of stuff,” Esleeck said.

Proximity helped Esleeck become the first assistant to reach the Port City. He had experience with scheduling, something that helped McGrath fill the program’s blank nonconference slate. He led the recruiting charge after the Seahawks had a plethora of scholarships to fill.

Esleeck is now focused on what he believes he does best – developing talent. His previous coaching stops have all been at mid-major programs, something he hopes will be beneficial to the Seahawks.

“Having been at the mid-major level my entire career you don’t sign guys that come in and are finished products. You develop them. That’s been a huge part of my journey as a coach,” Esleeck said. “I’ve failed at that, I’ve done well at that, I’ve been up and down with kids at that. It’s been a learning process for me. Every kid is different, every system is different. I think that’ll be a big part of my role here.”

Easy decision

Indiana was a nice place to live for a year. Jackie Manuel thoroughly enjoyed working at Valparaiso. But when McGrath came calling about a gig back in North Carolina?

“It was a no-brainer,” Manuel said with a laugh.

Manuel came to the Tar Heel state from Florida as a UNC recruit in 2001. After helping win the 2005 NCAA title, he played for several NBA D-League (now called G-League) programs and a team in Japan before coming back to his alma mater as a strength coach. Then four years at UNC Greensboro, followed by one at Valpo.

Coming back to the state and working for a coach he respected made sense. He didn’t realize exactly what he was getting into. Manuel lost out on landing Jaylen Fornes when he was in Greensboro. He now understands why the guard chose to take his talents to the beach.

“I didn’t know that this place was a gold mine like it is. I didn’t know that,” Manuel said. “When I got here, my mouth was to the floor. I was in awe. The campus, the facility, the program, everybody here, the fan base is terrific. I was like, 'Yeah, this is perfect.'”

Manuel recognizes the parallel. Nearly two decades ago, McGrath was a former player for Williams at Kansas who became an assistant coach and learned from his mentor. While Manuel has been out on his own, he’s now the former pupil learning from one of his old coaches.

Known as a defensive specialist during his time in Chapel Hill, Manuel acknowledges that stopping the opposition is something he’ll likely be tasked with. He’s looking forward to imparting knowledge on the Seahawks. He’s also excited to be schooled.

“I missed home and getting an opportunity to work for Coach McGrath, I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn a lot more,” Manuel said. “I really wanted to just come here and learn from him and continue to grow as a coach and as a person.”

Return to familiarity

There was a time when Wrightsville Beach was the place for Joe Wolf to escape. Those memories made him want to call it home.

“When (former UNC) coach (Dean) Smith said, ‘You guys can do what you need to do for the weekend,’ I’m from Wisconsin, so it wasn’t like I was flying or driving home,” Wolf joked. “I would come down to Wrightsville Beach, so I knew the area pretty well. At 52 and divorced and trying to get on in my life, I realized it would be a great spot to work and live.”

Playing pro basketball and coaching the game at nearly every level led Wolf across the country. When his time with the Brooklyn Nets ended, Wolf returned to Wisconsin and worked on a project trying to bring a D-League team to Sheboygan.

Ultimately, he wanted to get back into coaching. A call to Roy Williams led to another to McGrath. The rest is history.

At 6-foot-11 with an 11-year NBA career on his resume, Wolf knows what fans expect him from him. The Seahawks are expected to run a scheme that features two post players after playing with a four-guard lineup the last three years. Wolf will be the man who gets the post players ready to go.

“I kind of made my name in understanding bigs and helping them develop. I worked with Larry Sanders, Andrew Bogut, Brook Lopez and a lot of other names that have done very well. I’d like to think that I helped their careers,” he said.

Of course, his work already comes with caveat. Wolf inherits Devontae Cacok, a post player who put together one of the best statistical seasons offensively in NCAA history. He hopes to help Cacok, as well as every other forward on the roster, round out their game to become a complete player. Adding new wrinkles doesn’t mean guys won’t play to their strengths.

“C.B. already said that if Devontae shoots under 80 percent I’m in trouble,” Wolf said with a laugh. “We’re going to work on all facets of everybody’s game. We’re going to make them better basketball players which should help the team. Any time you develop a skill individually, it will help the team. That’s what we plan on doing.”

-- Reporter Alex Riley can be reached at 910-343-2034 or Alex.Riley@StarNewsOnline.com.

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